Telephone headsets are an important element of modern business equipment. They provide hands-free communication, and improve productivity, in a variety of applications, such as operator and information services.
One of the main applications of telephone headsets is in connection with automatic in-bound and out-bound telephone systems. Such systems generally include an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD). In a telephone system with an ACD, a computer automatically routes telephone calls to workstations connected to the system in a way that balances the call load equally between the workstations. Each workstation can be occupied by a telephone representative. For a telephone system with ACD to work properly, each telephone representative is required to log on to the system each time he/she occupies his/her workstation, and to log off the system each time he/she leaves his/her workstation. This is necessary so that the ACD will route calls to all occupied workstations, and will not route calls to any unoccupied workstations. If a representative leaves his/her workstation without logging off, the ACD system will continue to route calls to that workstation. Such calls are not responded to, or a response is delayed. A representative failing to log on to the system increases the load on the other representatives, and increases the time required to respond to incoming calls. The failure of a representative either to log on to or log off the system consequently results in a reduced quality of service.
The need for a telephone system to determine whether a workstation is occupied is not restricted to telephone systems with an ACD. For example, the sole telephone operator in a small office is also required to log off when away from his/her workstation so that incoming calls do not go unanswered.
To improve the quality of service provided by telephone systems in which the presence of a representative or operator at a workstation impacts the quality of service, it is desirable that logging on and logging off be automated.
A typical workstation includes a telephone headset connected to an amplifier. The amplifier is, in turn, connected to the workstation, which is connected to the telephone system. The amplifier is powered by current drawn from the telephone system. Automated log on/log off systems are known in which the representative has to unplug the amplifier from the workstation to log off automatically. The automatic log on/log off system monitors each workstation to determine whether or not an amplifier is connected to the workstation. The system logs the representative off when it determines that the amplifier has been disconnected from the workstation. Some types of automatic log on/log off system log the representative back on when it determines that the amplifier has been re-connected to the workstation. Other types require the representative to log back in manually.
Such automatic log on/log off systems determine whether the amplifier is connected to the workstation by monitoring some parameter that depends on whether or the amplifier is connected, such as the current drawn from the telephone system by the amplifier, or the resistance between a pair of contacts.
The log on/log off system just described is regarded as automatic, even though the representative has to connect or disconnect the amplifier, because operators prefer to continue to wear their headsets when away from their workstations, especially if the time away from the workstation is short. To be able to leave the workstation while wearing the headset, the representative has to unplug the amplifier, and has to carry the amplifier around while away from the workstation.
Recently, headset manufacturers have made it easier for a representative to leave his/her workstation while wearing his/her headset by providing a connector in the cord between the headset and the amplifier. The representative can then wear the headset while he/she is away from the workstation and no longer has to carry the amplifier. However, disconnecting the headset using the connector in the cord defeats the known automatic log in/log out systems, because the representative can leave the workstation without unplugging the amplifier, and disconnecting the headset using the connector in the cord does not change any of the parameters monitored by the known automatic log on/log off systems.